Okay so alot of stuff happened over the last week regarding the Penn State Jerry Sandusky situation. And when I say alot of stuff, I mean alot. Basically, that school is screwed and it will take forever to rebuild. I’m sure due process will play out and what not, but it’s passed the point of no longer needing to be covered here. So let’s cheer up a bit. I’m going to a live college football game Saturday! I’m already getting stoked because I have some buds coming into town to watch it with me. In the meantime, here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:
Continue reading Crib Sheet: Closing A Chapter on This Book →
So the deed is finally done. Texas A&M and the SEC made it official. Now last week, we found out that the Big 12 was staying together. We also found out that Dan Beebe resigned, at the request of Oklahoma and some others. Connected sports guy Chuck Neinas was setup as the interim Big 12 Commissioner. What else? The 1st and 2nd tier television rights are on the table. That’s fine for Texas because the LHN is 3rd tier, noinch! The athletic directors all met and were saying they are committed to keeping the Big 12 alive. Although, it seems Missouri’s foot is still out of the door. Worse yet, the reason Oklahoma wanted the Big 12 to stay alive was because they couldn’t swing a deal with the Pac 12. So is it safe? I guess it is for now. I’ll be certain of it when somebody actually joins the conference instead of leaves it. Until then, here’s another installment of the Crib Sheet: Continue reading Crib Sheet: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself →
It’s the year of FCS upsets so far. The first week saw North Dakota State upsetting Kansas and Jacksonville State putting one on Ole Miss. Then last weekend, James Madison beat ranked Virginia Tech. It just goes to show you that the competition can be heated on any given Saturday. If a team gets too big for itself, it may overlook another opponent. That’s just enough to tilt the victory meter away from them. We are always humble with our conference powerhouse that is the Crib Sheet, so check it out:
- We’re heard of strange injuries before but having a ‘bowel injury’ takes the cakes. That’s what Arkansas Razorback Dennis Johnson had that left him out of Saturday’s game against Georgia. We hope he can plug it up for next week.
- What two better teams to play in Jerry Jones’ Cowboys Stadium to kickoff the season than LSU and Oregon. Huh? That’s right, the ‘Cowboys Classic’ will be held by two teams not in the Big 12. Doesn’t make sense at all.
- We see reports of crime all the time in the Crib Sheet. Like another arrest for Missouri’s Derrick Washington. Sports Illustrated’s Jeff Benedict points this out as well. We think we’ll keep it on the down low from now on. Maybe just police blotters for the Big 12. Unless it’s some kind of harmless, whacky crime.
- Oh by the way. The lawsuit between former K-State coach Ron Prince and the university will be moving back to the courtroom. It looks as though both sides want an immediate judgement. Not sure if it’s gonna happen. We’ll keep you posted.
- All signs are pointing to Colorado joining the Pac 12 in 2012. They wanted to move earlier, but the stars couldn’t align just right. Maybe after the California whupping put on the Buffaloes pushed them back a year.
- The plane carrying McNeese State had to make an emergency landing on the way to the Missouri game. Apparently, a tire blew out on take off. That would scare the heck out of me. No wonder those kids didn’t fare to well against the Tigers.
- The New York Times points out that the Big 1o makes its money because of the fans. And the fans who would pay a massive premium to see the Big 10 games. So the Times points out what we know already: control the college sports in the conference and you can make some major bank.
- It looks like Villanova is looking over an invitation to the Big East. This would be an upgrade in the football program as they were FCS last year. They are a part of the Big East in virtually every other sport. We hope this helps keep the conference together for a little bit longer.
- One of our favorite football people, former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach, will get his own radio show on Sirius. He’s doing that and CBS. Will he ever be back to the sidelines? Maybe after these gigs pay off his lawyer fees for his suit against Texas Tech.
- A bunch of Missouri football players formed a rap group. The Kentucky Boulevard Boys look to take over the scene like they take over the football field. Yeah, whatever. Call me when they get a recording contract. Oh, and try to focus on the playbook and not your lyric book for the next couple of weeks. We know it’s a cakewalk schedule but you need to be getting better now, not in a month.
- Michigan’s Denard Robinson is your Heisman leader after two weeks and it makes real sense. He single-handedly carried the Wolverines past Notre Dame last Saturday. If he gets his wheel injured, the whole season is over for Michigan.
- Reggie Bush, on the other hand, will forfeit his Heisman. It seems the pressure and guilt for playing with a bunch of ineligible players in 2005 was just too much. Vince Young, the runner-up, tweeted that he will be happy leaving it vacant, even though he said he wanted it earlier this week.
- Speaking of Twitter, Miami of Florida’s head coach Randy Shannon just banned it for his players. It seems the beat down Oklahoma gave the Hurricanes was enough to warrant this punishment. Maybe the team can play their way back into getting access?
- The new NCAA President Mark Emmert wants to get tougher on the rule breakers. Yet, he wants to make sure the pro sports leagues and players’ unions are happy. Let’s face it. The NCAA is irrelevant. It seems all they do is choke the players from making money so they can make more money. A free education is great for these athletes, but they are stopping adults from making adult business decisions. Someone needs to stop these guys, they are like cassette tapes.
- Who will win the kicking battle in Manhattan? Will it be Athony Cantele or Josh Cherry? One thing is for sure, one of these two will lose a game for the Kansas State Wildcats.
- And it looks like the WAC is suing Nevada and Fresno State so they can stay in the WAC for the 2011-2012 season. You know, with the way expansion has been handled in the offseason, wouldn’t the WAC have some sort of contingency in place? Instead of suing, why not invite a couple of Big Sky schools in? Nope, because they are a sub par conference, they will sue their way around things. This conference will die a slow burning death.
There’s just so much to chew on from the first week of college football, we’ll just make the intro real quick. On to the Crib Sheet:
- Freshly on its own, BYU signed a deal with ESPN and Notre Dame to be shown exclusively and play, respectively. They are stepping out fresh in their independence but we don’t think they’ll get as strong as their Irish counterparts.
- The Big 10 now has divisions, so we’ll see how balanced they are in the next couple of years. The big news is breaking up Michigan and Ohio State. Since they will be the ‘yearly rival’, there’s a big chance that they could play each other again in the Big 10 Championship Game.
- Even though, Derrick Washington was booted from the team, the Missouri Tigers beat up on Illinois last Saturday. It took some time for them to find their rhythm but once they did, they looked sharp. Apparently athletic director Mike Alden said that protecting the school was the number one priority when it came between Washington and the allegations. Way to go 810 AM and Kevin Kietzman, you seem to get everyone to talk.
- The face behind the mask of the mascot for Penn State, notched an MIP for underage drinking. Clint Gyory got busted and now he’s suspended from his mascot duties. It just goes to show that football players aren’t the other ones who have to watch what they do in their free time.
- In what’s become the major theme to begin the season, another player will miss games for accepting sports agent gifts. This time it’s Alabama’s Marcell Dareus. They should suspend him for key games. Doing this at the beginning of the year means they miss the cakewalk part of the schedule.
- At the very last second, Jeremiah Masoli’s appeal was approved and he was cleared to play for Ole Miss. It didn’t help them however, as Division II school Jacksonville St. ended up beating Ole Miss in 2 overtimes. I caught the end of the game and no doubt it’s on the top so far for game of the year.
- Boise State assistant Keith Abu Bhonapha got a DUI. He should be off the team.
- North Carolina was one play away from possibly winning the game against LSU last Saturday. What’s more than amazing is that they did it with a ton of suspended players. About half of the starters didn’t play due to NCAA investigations. We’re not sure if it shows how tough the Tar Heels could be or how weak LSU looks.
- TCU coach Gary Patterson gave credit to ESPN’s Lee Corso for inspiring the Horned Frogs to a come from behind win against Oregon State last Saturday. Patterson used the right amount of moto-mojo to get his team over the tough Beavers.
- Looks like Nebraska’s schedule in the Big 10 will start out tough. There’s no surprise there. The new boys in town will get beat up for a couple of years to show that current members are strong.
- After the embarrassing loss to North Dakota State, Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins retired Tuesday. He was going to retire next year, but the school (and the boosters) decided to cough up the money to get him out of there sooner. We don’t know who the replacement AD, not interim, will be and now we don’t know who the starting quarterback will be. Man basketball season can’t come any faster for the Jayhawks.
- Apparently Reggie Bush may be stripped of his Heisman. I guess that’s what happens when it’s discovered that you might have been ineligible during your run in college. He would be the first. How many other Heisman winners may have been ineligible? Should we investigate everyone and find out?
- In MASSIVE conference expansion news, Cal Poly and UC Davis will be joining the Big Sky Conference. At first we thought it was just a conference of country bars, but with this new development we see the Big Sky in a different light.
- ESPN kicked off ESPN3D last year during the BCS Championship Game and now they have an updated schedule that started with the Boise State and Virginia Tech game. So far so good, according to the review. We’re anxious to get our eyes on it when it becomes mainstream about 20 years from now.
- Speaking of the Broncos, they jumped to #3 in both polls. Looks like if they can keep up the blowouts, they will be a contender. Meanwhile, David Ubben runs down the votes for the Big 12 teams. It’s pretty much the big 3 in the top 25 (Texas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma) then about 5 teams about a stone’s throw from the 25 threshold. If they can keep it up, we may see more Big 12 teams up there.
Finally the wait is over. Tomorrow night we kick off another great year of college football! It’s been what seems likes ages since the end of last season and now we have another year of the most pristine competition we’ll ever see on the field. Sure the offseason provided plenty of drama, with coaching changes and conference expansion, but we’re done with the talking and we’re ready to strap it on. The helmet that is. So here’s the last Crib Sheet before the new season:
- Notre Dame got NBC to back down on commercial breaks so they can run a more hurry up type offense. What other school can have that kind of pull? Not even Texas. Brian Kelly wants to air it out and has buy in from everyone involved with Notre Dame.
- More injury news. Roy Finch has a hairline fracture in his ankle and may miss about half of Oklahoma’s season. UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince has a strained oblique and may miss the opener. Mizzou’s Munir Prince is recovering after being knocked out on the practice field. We wish him well.
- UCLA’s Jeff Baca is too dumb to play football this year. He was the left guard for the Bruins and this will most certainly affect the start of the season, when they face the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan.
- Rumors had BYU staying in the Mountain West after all. Check and mate for the speculation hounds. They are actually going to the West Coast Conference for everything except football, where they will be independent. We’re not sure they hype is big enough for another religious school but hey would could be wrong.
- We love Twitter, like we always say, and ESPN Big 12 blogger David Ubben loves them too. Check out his list of must follows for this upcoming season of Big 12 football.
- Derrick Washington, Mizzou’s star running back, was suspended from the team indefinitely last week and then charged for sexual assault. Apparently he touched a lady too hard. Will he make it back to the field this year? Maybe so, if the team gets desperate.
- Texas is still ramping up the huge home and homes. This time it’s USC and they will play each other in 2017 and 2018. They are lining themselves up greatly for a marquee Longhorns Network owned football game.
- Kansas State released their depth chart for Saturday’s game against UCLA. The big surprise? Chris Harper is not starting. Bill Snyder 2.0 went with Tremaine Thompson. Hrm, well see if it works Saturday. No surprises at quarterback with Carson Coffman getting the nod.
- Meanwhile, Bo Pelini is mum on who will start for Nebraska this weekend. This may be the only element of surprise coming from the Cornhuskers offense this year.
- Beau Brinkley, Missouri’s long snapper, was snapped up last week for a DWI. This marks yet another drunk issue for the Tigers, on top of Derrick Washington’s heavy touch. Gary Pinkel came out and said he was truly embarrassed about the ordeal. Maybe because it was too close to the start of the season?
- Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram will miss Alabama’s first game due to a knee injury. Yeah, he should’ve gone to the NFL. He made his choice and Alabama is not saying how serious the injury is. Sam Bradford 2.0 anyone?
- David Ubben pointed us to this fascinating story of how the Nebraska to Big 10 shakedown took place. Things were going a mile a minute when it was happening and this recounting of the events points out just how much we don’t know what’s going on in the background.
Man what a crazy roller coaster of an offseason for the Big 12. Who would’ve thought a year ago that the Big 12 would be rocked to its very knees and survive probably one of most weirdest advances in college football history. It was like a whacked out game of Axis & Allies. Welp Germany didn’t win and neither did the Big 10. So here we are going into what is the last season we will ever see for this 12 conference league. Who will come out on top? Roll dice to find out (er read below).
Continue reading Big 12 , er 11, er 10 Predictions for 2010 →
We’ve been sacked from the Big 12 Media Days on this week’s Crib Sheet. We’ll go over the last media day next, as we have a major pile of news dump on you. Here we go:
- The Big 12 Preseason media poll is out and we have ourselves a rivalry game for the Big 12 Championship. The sports media picked Nebraska in the North and Oklahoma in the South, with Missouri and Texas shortly behind in both divisions respectively. Speaking more locally, Iowa State’s big season last year didn’t improve their status as they were voted last. Kansas and Kansas State are neck and neck for the middle of the pack, with the benefit of the doubt going to the Wildcats and its coaching experience. Usually the sports media is wrong so we’re anxious to see how it plays out this season.
- Meanwhile the All Big 12 Preseason was announced as well. Two Missouri kids, one Kansas, one Kansas State, and a whole bunch of Texas and Oklahoma kids make up the team. That pretty much tells you what the sports media thinks of the talent in the conference. Pretty obvious too.
- So the SEC and the NCAA saga continues this week as Georgia is the latest school in the south to be investigated. Apparently the agent/player gaming of the system has been going on for years and the SEC is the first target (after sharpening their sword on USC). The center of which is a reported party in South Beach, Miami hosted by the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers Frank Gore. So it looks like a big dust-up will happen here right before the college football season to make sure all players in the college football game stay honest. For how long? We don’t know.
- In case you are wondering, Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne will be heading to the Big 10’s preseason meetings next month. We’re wondering if he will be shining shoes while he’s there.
- Big 12 media days came and Dan Beebe will spoke, as well as BCS head honcho Bill Hancock. They are bringing out all of the PR guns to fight of the sports media blitzkrieg surrounding the expansion explosion over the summer. Even with detailed recounts of the summer of expansion love. Is Dan Beebe the savior?
- Iowa State defensive back David Simms looks to be under the police gun for a stolen credit card number and is charged. They haven’t filed charges yet, but the police did search his place. We’ll see if he was the culprit or one of his buddies.
- Kansas Frosh Jeremiah Evans’ career is officially over due to his worsened heart condition. It sucks when you can’t get on the field due to health issues and we wish him the best in whatever he decides to do with his life.
- Lane Kiffin ticked off Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher by hiring his running back coach for his USC team. Fisher calls it unprofessional, we think it’s the next step in coaching evolution. Courtesy calls are out the window if you want a guy bad enough. It’s dog eat dog out there. The Titans apparently think that USC broke the law too.
- Bo Pelini was mum on the Big 10 during Nebraska’s media day time. It looks like he’s pulling out the ole coaching classic. And while not chewing any gum with his mouth open. The Nebraska players are wearing reminder bracelets of their loss last year as well.
- Back in his NCAA days, Dan Beebe wanted to contract sports agents with universities so everything could be on the table. If a violation was found, the agent could lose potentially millions and the university may not be on the hook as much. Beebe is looking better and better every week.
- Ron Prince’s side of the story was obvious, as a deposition revealed. He was guaranteed money and now he wants it. There was even a napkin thrown in by former Kansas State athletic director Tim Weiser. It’s another he said she said, with a “Memo of Understanding” between the two. The courts will take this one over and we’ll see who gets the dough.
- The once troubled and jailed Maurcie Clarett is out of jail and back in his former school, Ohio State. Hey sometimes it takes people much longer to realize a college education is a useful tool in this world.
- The Pac 10 has a new logo. Ain’t it cute? They are also changing their name to the Pac 12 once Colorado and Utah join.
- Dan Beebe has also been busy trying to sweep the leaving teams out the door quick. He doesn’t want a court battle over the fees. Plus he thinks Colorado leaving next year instead of 2012 makes much more sense. The sooner the better for everyone involved.
- Oklahoma State safety Victor Johnson was arrested for smoking dope. Ruh roh. Suspension time for that guy.
- Missouri has some beef left over from last year’s Navy blowout. Blaine Gabbert looks to be the guy and Derrick Washington looks to be his running buddy. The Tigers have a couple of chips including being picked behind Nebraska and not being invited to the Big 10.
- Kansas State on the other hand, looks to be clawing it way up, with the help of running back Daniel Thomas. Bill Snyder 2.0 won’t give away the starter at quarterback (again) and he’s dealt with the loss of a puff schedule he like so much.
College Sports, Kansas City style
